wordaday

It’s the time of year that in America, we’re all thinking about Turkey, even those of us who don’t actually eat the bird, Male Eastern Wild Turkey since images are all around us, in preparation for Thanksgiving. We’ve all heard the stories about the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving. But I suspect fewer of us have actually seen the native wild American turkey; Meleagris gallopavo silvestris. This is the Eastern Wild Turkey, and the sub-species that the Pilgrims would have seen.

In the wild the Toms, or males, (sometimes called Gobblers for their call) are really quite lovely, with a variety of colored plumage—some of the prettiest I’ve seen have very definite blue feathers. The females are often a little drab, in comparison to the larger, showier males. The males will fan out their tails in a display, much like a male Peacock will do. They’re smart too, they can fly, and they are very very clever about hiding. Mostly I hear Turkeys before I see them; both males and females make a lot of noise while eating. The variety of calls they make sounds almost as if they’re conversing while dining.

Turkey as a the name for these birds was the result of a mistake; the Pilgrims assumed these large birds were a species of Guinea Fowl, then often called Turkeys under the mistake assumption that the birds came from Turkey.

You can see pictures of the Eastern Wild Turkey here and here, and here, as well as in the image in this post.

Image credit: Pennsylvania Game Commission

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